Quakes' Wondolowski taking aim at 100 goals

Chris Wondolowski has not missed a step in the Earthquakes' season of futility.

The Danville native became the third player in Major League Soccer history to score at least 10 goals in five consecutive seasons last weekend, though the eighth-place Quakes lost again.

Wondolowski, 31, joined Carlos Ruiz and Juan Pablo Angel in the exclusive club with his 10th goal in 17 appearances in a 4-2 defeat at Philadelphia.

The striker has 89 goals in 189 MLS appearances, ranking him ninth on the all-time scoring list. With 11 games remaining, starting Saturday at Buck Shaw Stadium against Real Salt Lake, Wondo can begin the climb to the 100-goal club.

Chris Wondolowski, who played forward for the U.S. national soccer team in the 2014 World Cup, speaks with reporters after practicing with the San Jose Earthquakes on Friday, July 4, 2014, in San Jose, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
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Noah Berger
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Only nine players in the league's 19-year history have achieved the century mark. Few doubt Wondo eventually will get there because it doesn't appear the Quakes' designated player is about to retire any time soon.

"We don't think about him slowing down," coach Mark Watson said. "Thirty-one is a pretty young age for Wondo."

A handful of factors support Watson. Firstly, Wondolowski is one of the team's most durable players. He rarely sits out because of injury, even playing much of last season with a painful broken toe.

Secondly, the 6-foot-1 striker's success has not been the result of power and speed. In other words, age won't affect him as much as others.

Wondolowski takes pride in "being quicker with my mind than my feet."

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But he has no interest in record keeping while trying to help salvage what appears to be a lost season.

The Earthquakes (6-10-7, 25 points) probably need seven victories in their final 11 regular-season games to have any chance of reaching the MLS Cup playoffs. Only four of those matches are scheduled for Buck Shaw.

San Jose has reached the playoffs twice since Wondolowski's impressive streak began in 2010. As he often says, he would trade all those goals for victories.

The sentiment underscores Wondolowski's desire to win more than anything.

As Watson suggested, the flames aren't dimming.

"I like coming into the locker room," Wondolowski said this week. "Until that becomes tedious and becomes a job and my body can't handle it, that will be the day that I call it."

Wondolowski, however, doesn't know when the end might come. He and wife Lindsey had their first child in December. The player credits Emersyn for keeping provided needed balance in his life.

The way the season has unfolded, though, has not been fun. Wondolowski takes defeats personally.

It didn't help the Quakes to lose their leading scorer for the World Cup this summer. The simple fact is San Jose has not had a consistent starting lineup because of ill-timed injuries. The Quakes entered an unforgiving stretch missing four of their best offensive players and U.S. national team defender Clarence Goodson.

San Jose is winless in four games because of a leaky defense that has allowed 10 goals in the past three matches.

"It's not like we're getting completely destroyed," midfielder Shea Salinas said. "It's just one or two mistakes and then fast breaks."

But everyone agrees those mistakes give Wondolowski and the offense little chance to keep pace.